IDF Unveils Missile-Warning System for Private Homes in Israel

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Rockets launched into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Photo: Twitter.

Israel’s Homefront Command is unveiling a new type of private home system warning of incoming missiles and artillery fire, Globes reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the new system — which was developed by the IDF in conjunction with Beeper Communications — is a “private home siren that will provide real-time warnings and call on tenants to quickly take cover or enter their protected area.”

The development of the system comes two years after Operation Protective Edge — Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza — during which the Jewish state was under continual rocket-bombardment. Though some 3,000 air raid sirens are positioned across the country, the report stated, Israel’s defense establishment came to realize during the conflict that not every citizen is able to hear them when they go off.

Homefront Command Planning Department Commander Col. Itzik Gai said the system is not meant to replace existing technologies, such as cellphone apps that warn in real time of incoming rockets.

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“The national siren system will continue to be the bulldozer for delivering warnings to the public, but the personal systems will be supplementary components,” he said, adding, “We’re already thinking about delivering an earlier warning focused on a single square kilometer. We’re also thinking about a personal warning to be delivered to a civilian wearing a personal ring, special buzzer, or even directly to a smart watch. It won’t happen tomorrow morning, but it can be assumed that it will happen in the next decade, so that warnings will become much more personalized.”

Accoring to Gai, the new warning system should be available for sale to the general public in the near future.